Who needs a day off?

The player in question was Ugueth "The Machete" Urbina. I wonder if he knows the whereabouts of Carlos Quintana.

We have a winner.

In the 2002 BA Prospect Handbook, Rundles was the No. 7 prospect in the Expos' system - four spots ahead of Cliff Lee.

Put Rundles middle name is "Lambert", which means U.U. Urbina is cooler (except when he's on fire). Now someone have Elias find all the triple-initialed players who've been traded for each other.

The pre-WWI Sox trio of Harry Hooper, Tris Speaker and Duffy Lewis was regarded for decades as one of the best defensive outfields ever, for any team. Plus, they played together for six seasons, and two of them are in the HOF. For now, I'd say they're still the best.

Nice read, though yr link to Verlander is the same one for Rundles...

>
I dropped Prince Fielder in early May last season (don't ask...) and made a point to draft him this season to make up for my stupidity.

He's currently sitting at 28 homers with less than a month to play and batted .228 in August, keepin the BA in the .260's...

Luckily I was able to grab Atkins off the wire to help pick up the slack... but...

The lesson? Don't draft with emotion...

The Bottom Line Blog

The link in #8 goes to the wrong article (the one on Rundles, not the one on Verlander).

From a number of Gold Glove perspective I would think the outfield of Yaz, Lynn and Evans would have to yank #1 in Red Sox history.

(I know Yaz was playing more first base at the time these three were together, but he still played left fairly often)

Dude, did you really just reference a pre-WW1 outfield? Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the enthusiasm and research, but...come on.

Regarding the Yanks vs. Rays. I also refuse to root for the Yanks. If the Yanks were playing Cuba, I will root for the Commies.

Pedroia is not the favorite for MVP. What is wrong with you guys? I love him and he might be ther Sox MVP but not the AL MVP...

Yaz ... Lynn ... Evans wasn't bad!!!

As for fantasy dork-dom: Aaron Harang... if that guy had his expected 16 win season, I'd win the league. He killed me.

You are so right about Theo's shrewd and timely acquisitions. The Yankees always came up with these sort of late season add-ons. Finally the Sox have someone smart enough to know what the team needs, and the wherewithal to get it. In 1978, the Sox had an unbelievable record until the all-star break. The starting nine were by far the best in baseball. But they had no bench strength. I remember one crucial game against the Yankees when they brought in a pinch hitter, our backup catcher Bob Bailey (if memory serves). Now probably Bob Bailey was a perfectly good guy, nice to his kids and kind to his mother, but he was a .230 hitter, and no help at all.
Under Theo's eyes, the Sox have had players like Dave Roberts, and now Byrd, Kotsay, not to mention excellent support from Cora, and several young players. The team is light year's better run than in the bad old days. While we're praising management, let's not forget how terrific Terry Francona and Farrell are--intelligent, well-spoken, sensitive to players' needs, superb with young athletes. The whole organization is outstanding.

my fantasy team co-mvps, at this point, are Pedroia (a late-round pick, I got lucky) and Roy Halladay (who was actually an accidental pick).

Jacoby, Coco and Kotsay are all good fielders who can cover ground but only Kotsay has a really good throwing arm so when it's all 3 out there you can take bases on 2 of them. J.D. is soft but he does have a good arm.

Tris Speaker was putting up 20-35 assists every year and 300-400 put outs.

How about losing in your fantasy playoff cuz Quentin is out? Thanks for breaking the news to me.

Where did the good folks at Topps take that Frank Duffy photo? He's in a home uniform, but that stadium is sure not Fenway, and it doesn't look like a spring training facility either. Couldn't they do better than "Hey Frank, can you step behind the cage for a minute?"

Ellsbury Kotsay and Crisp the best outfield the sox have put on the field? I might go with Yaz, Smith and Dewey. They were something else, don't ya think?

Jimmy Piersall was the best outfielder ever. I can't put him in the "best defensive outfield" (Ted Williams and Jackie Jensen) but he deserves a mention.

Chad,
Another great column. Consistently great writing. When are they going to put you on staff?

I don't know if they are the best outfield we've fielded defensively, but I would imagine we have never had 3 guys at the same time who could cover as much ground as Coco, Jacoby, and Kotsay.

//I might go with Yaz, Smith and Dewey. They were something else, don't ya think?//

REGGIE Smith? I think you're confusing your eras.

And so what if Speaker, Hooper and Lewis were pre-WWI - they were stupendous, and any Red Sox fan with any historical perspective should be well aware of their prowess.

And as for Verlander, he's always been one of my favorites, but I had the proverbial George Lucas Bad Feeling about him this spring. The Detroit pitching staff looked suspect overall, even if Verlander was outstanding, and I had a suspicion that trying to carry the burden of the Tigers' ridiculously high expectations almost on his own would prove too much for him.

Chad, I would argue Yaz, Lynn, Evans might be better than Kotsay, Ellsbury, Crisp, and certainly its not even close from a throwing standpoint.

How quickly we forget the shrewd maneuver by Theo last year.

I can't even type his name I am GAGing so bad. .......

Wil Cordero, Rudy Pemberton and Shane Mack from '97. Wow!

Note, on the days when Terry Francona pencils in an outfield of Kotsay, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Coco Crisp, is that the best defensive trio in Red Sox history?

Chad, Please put down the Crack Pipe !! How about; Evans, Lynn, and Yaz? [ before he moved to First Base}; Crisp is a puss-arm and #8, #24, and #19 had way above average arms.

Love the Carlos Quintana reference.

Hey Chad, I liked your comment regarding Pedro. When he was in his prime, the bar was raised for that electric feeling he brought to each game. He is someone I'll never forget and hope he goes into the hall as a Red Sox.

I'm pretty sure he meant defensively and as much as I love Dewey, Yaz and Lynn, they aren't in Ellsbury/Crisp's class when it comes to catching the ball.
I will recues myself from the Speaker/Hooper/Lewis debate as I never watched them play.

Gagne obviously didn't work out well, but I remember being happy when the Sox got him (pulled one over on the Yanks). He was clearly the living embodiment of past results not being a guarantee of future success. But not all moves work out be anyone. And the Sox won the Series last year - what the H are you complaining about?

I love to watch the Yanks lose too, but do yourself a favor Chad, call all your Yankee fan friends and thank them for helping the Sox in the division. Their gnashing of teeth will warm your heart

Oh and what was Garret Atkins doing on your waiver wire?

Lynn Rice Evans Miller Beniquez...5 gold glove winners in one outfield....I'm not sure this bunch tops that crew.

kaflookey,

EXCELLENT point about Miller and Beniquez. Miller could really play the OF.

I somehow don't think the Greenwell, Otis Nixon, and Wes Chamberlain OF in 1994, was one of their better defensive ones.

That 1994 edition of the Dan Duquette Red Sox is littered with great obscure names from Red Sox history:
Gar Finnvold - P
Tim Vanegmond - P
Greg Litton - Inf
Lee Tinsley - OF
Todd Frohwirth - P
Nate Minchey - P
Andy Tomberlin - OF
Chris Nabholz - P
Ricky Trlicek - P
Scott Bankhead - P

Gold Gloves for Red Sox Out fielders

Evans - 8
Yaz - 7
Lynn - 4

FWIW
Crisp-0
Ellsbury-0
Kotsay-0
Rice -0
Miller -0 (1 with the angels)
Beniquez-0 (1 with texas.

The Gagne deal at the time looked like a coup. He was having an all-star quality season for the Rangers....can't fault Theo for what came after.

Hey! AK!! (see 10th post on this article)!! The Pre-WW1 reference is a great example of what makes Chad Finn's writing so compelling. Real human beings did some very cool stuff before, yes, even BEFORE YOU were born. And thank you Chad.

Ouch, on the Ed Sprague reference. He lived with my family when he played in the cape league. Solid third baseman, and last time I checked he had two rings to his credit.

Theo is so smart that he will have pissed away $76M on Renteria and Lugo over a 6-year period, while in the meantime, allowed a free agent SS to walk (Cabrera) who was infinitely better than these two will ever be in a Sox uniform and traded the best SS in the game right now (Hanley); spent $55M on Drew, while trading two young OFs (Murphy & Moss), who are proving they can play at this level, for a bag of peanuts; brought in Crisp and Gagne, tried to trade for A-Rod...the list goes on an on. His post-deadline acquisitions this year were solid, but don't nearly make up for all the other terrible moves he has made. Luckily there is enough money in the organization to cover his mistakes. You can't tell me he would have been successful in Oakland, Minnesota, Tampa Bay or any other franchise where salary limitations on the roster come into play.

Frank Duffy born 10-14-46 in Oakland, CA
Home (as of 1976): Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Led the Indians in doubles in 1975 and had 9 game winning hits.
Passed 2000 at bats and 500 hits with the Indians in 1976.

I have this guy's Topps card from 1976. God do I feel old. I even recognized his BB card from the article above and I haven't looked through my BB cards in years and years.

Dwight Evans had an unworldly arm. A cannon. DEW-W-W-EY!!!!!

Yaz, Lynn, Evans was the best fielding and hitting outfield in Red Sox history. Lynn could catch up to any ball that Crisp could catch and had a great arm. You would not see Lynn drop a routine fly ball like Crisp did the other nite. And Evans my god a perrenial gold glove outfielder. Would throw runners out at third on a routine basis from right field. Does not have Ellsbury's speed but always got a great jump and never missed played balls. Yaz--the best fielding left fielder ever for the Sox. Let the American league in assist for many years. Thrown ourt many runners at second , third and home. A great, great arm--also never misplayed a ball hit to his position

I'm with Sven. Go Yanks (at least while they're playing the Rays). I take such pleasure in the fact that each Yankee win at this point means... nothing!

I'll admit: Don't think I could have felt this way before 2 World Series trophies. Life's different on this side.

A lot of these comments place too much emphasis on throwing. It's important, but speed and flycatching are the biggest things. You can't take second if they don't let you get to first.

And did Jim Rice really win a Gold Glove? Bahahahahahaaa. Well, I guess Jeter got one too.

I can't root for the Yankees either, even when they're playing Tampa Bay. Part of it is almost five decades of pinstripe hatred; part of it is that I don't really care if the Sox win the division or not -- and I don't think the Sox care that much either. As long as they're in the playoffs, that's fine.

Nice try but Rice never won a Gold Glove - that I know of - and Beniquez and Miller won while they were with other teams.

Best defensive trio in Red Sox history. C'mon. Are you kidding me. Aside from having Jim Ed, Freddie Lynn and Dewey in the same OF. Coco Crisp has not mae one play this year and even dropped a few decent opportunities. He cannot throw worth a lick and some days can't hit the ball out of his hands. How many games has Kotsay played? Jacoby is still a budding star. We could be saying that still, 2 years from now. Where is your head Chad. Is this really Bradford?

Has anybody noticed how the spiraling defensive trend in Left Field has halted with Jason Bay? Check it out: Splint, Yaz, Rice, Greenwell, O'Leary and Manny. Not that Bay has the greatest of arms, but he appears to be a gamer. We should be back to 39's quality at least.

In 1967 I was an 18 year old student and Tiger fan my first year in Boston, a ten minute walk to the park. I seem to remember Yaz, Reggie, and Tony across the outfield. Smith had the best arm in the league, Conigliaro could swear as well as he could throw, which was Revere good, and Yaz was Yaz. For a few months, that might have been their best outfield. It was at the plate.
In a rainout that never got started, Yaz and Smith came out of the dugout to the first base line, and we wondered what they were doing. Yaz uncorked a throw that hit at the very top of the Monster. It was Reggies turn. There was no more dispute. Top of the screen. Conigliaro was already done, or I expect we would have seen all three.

Rice never won a GG. He played a lot of DH while Lynn and Evans were winning them. However look at Rice when he played lots of OF compared to other GG at the time. He should have gotten one over Winfield in 1983 and should have been close in 1982, 1984 and 1986.

I have that Frank Duffy card... can't say it's one of my more cherished cards.

Hey, don't rule out Youk yet for the MVP, he may have missed a few games, but I think he'll be right there at the end with Pedey in the top 5, if not be the MVP himself

Regarding post 38, Theo did not trade Hanley Ramirez. That was a Lucchino trade during the period in post-season 2005 that Theo had quit. And remember it was Hanley for Beckett and Mike Lowell...seems like a good deal, if you like winning the World Series.

I'd have to say Lynn, Evans, Yaz (and/or Rice-c'mon, give Jim Ed credit in left, gold glove or not) beats this trio too, and let's not forget the shortlived Greenwell, Burks, Evans trio-they were pretty damn good all around 20 years ago...

ground covered = outs without having to throw to second. Granted on tag plays we are in trouble outside of Drew and Kotsay, but nothing falls with any of those guys out there which you NEVER could say before.

Yaz, Lynn and Dewey could catch, throw and hit. Nuff said!

No disrespect Chad, but I really hate it when sportswriters turn into cheerleaders. Take Theo's three best moves (Casey, Kotsey and Byrd) and balance them against Gagne, Lugo and Drew.
A show of hands please in Red Sox Nation....how many give a flying pudge if Drew comes back? Take all the games for the next two seasons - 324 - what is the over/under for how many JD will play? I say 175. And this from a ,280/20HR/75 RBI guy AT BEST. For 14 million....please.
There isn't another team in MLB that would pay Drew 4 million to play for them next year. Or Lugo 2 million. But Theo is going to be paying those two 44 million total for the next two years.
I was hoping you wouldn't succomb to deifying FratBoy.

my mr. irrevalant in my fantasy draft. Dustin Pedroia was my last pick in my draft as a backup 2nd baseman

I'm thinking the Frank Duffy picture was taken at County Stadium in Milwaukee. It's definitely a defunct ballpark. Could also be Cleveland, but I lean toward Milwaukee. As for the uniform, it does look like a home uniform, but those mid-70s Sox road grays were notorious for not being all that gray. They looked more like whites that hadn't been washed for a month. Since they have Frank posed so you can't see the lettering on the front, he could be wearing a road uniform.
Wow, that's a long post about nothing.....

In response to Comment 38 - I agree that Theo has made many bad moves (Cabrera's departure being the worst) and that he gets a pass on those (can't blame him for Gagne??) while getting too much credit for his other moves. And how can anyone say Moss had no place here when two weeks later the Sox had to get Kotsay? Theo got fleeced in his long-held desire to dump Manny.

Anyway, it is too bad Hanley Ramirez is gone, but it did get us Beckett and Lowell, without whom the Sox don't win last year (and aren't in contention this year). But, remember, that trade happened during Theo's gorilla-suit hiatus, so he did not make that trade (although I am sure he was involved in it).

Back to Gag

It's a good thing Epstein unloaded Pedro and kept a healthy specimen like Curt Schilling, who has history of taking the year off after playing in a world series. Look it up. You’re e right, Mark Kotsay is an icon, who’s already displaced Jason Bay in the annals of Sox history. Maybe we should revisit Kevin Romine. No Red Sox left fielder handled the wall better than Ted Williams, and the aforementioned Jimmy Piersall was the best outfielder to ever play for the Sox. Just ask Willie Mays. I've been into the Sox since 1955 but don't want anything to do with Red Sox "Nation." Dennis and Callahan are the only Boston broadcasting tandem more tedious than Orsillo and Remy. Stockton and Harrelson were the most professional and entertaining, and no Sox broadcaster could supply more unintentional comic relief than Bob Montgomery. The funniest comment in Sox announcing lore, though , was when Johnny Pesky referred to a bunt as rolling "out of bounds.” God love him. Chow, Chad.

It's a good thing Epstein unloaded Pedro and kept a healthy specimen like Curt Schilling, who has history of taking the year off after playing in a world series. Look it up. You’re e right, Mark Kotsay is an icon, who’s already displaced Jason Bay in the annals of Sox history. Maybe we should revisit Kevin Romine. No Red Sox left fielder handled the wall better than Ted Williams, and the aforementioned Jimmy Piersall was the best outfielder to ever play for the Sox. Just ask Willie Mays. I've been into the Sox since 1955 but don't want anything to do with Red Sox "Nation." Dennis and Callahan are the only Boston broadcasting tandem more tedious than Orsillo and Remy. Stockton and Harrelson were the most professional and entertaining, and no Sox broadcaster could supply more unintentional comic relief than Bob Montgomery. The funniest comment in Sox announcing lore, though , was when Johnny Pesky referred to a bunt as rolling "out of bounds.” God love him. Chow, Chad.

The Q - I wore 18 in high school to honor him. How sad is that!

Fantasy Hits - Josh Hamilton 9th Rnd, Evan Longoria - 17th Rnd, Ervin Santana 21st rnd (He finally lived up to the hype, still waiting for Daniel Cabrera to do so)

Fantasy Misses - Erik Bedard 6th Rnd, Brett Myers 7th Rnd, Khail Greene 13 rnd

Sine when is the National League the big leagues???

One thing that I don't think has been pointed out yet in the greatest defensive OF conversation is that if any ballpark in baseball requires different skills, it's Fenway. In Fenway, three good centerfielders don't trump three players, Yaz, Lynn, and Evans, whose skills and experience were a perfect match for the home field.

I do wonder if Lynn, Miller, and Beniquez (as pointed out earlier, each at one point won a gold glove as a centerfielder) ever started a game together.

Why haven't you guys mentioned - Yaz - SMith and Conigliaro. Maybe I'm just sentimental. But, '67 wouldn't have happened without that outstanding trio plus the great arm of Jose Tartabull, (Sorry, couldn't resist, reminds me of Damon on steroids)

In response to Johnw's comment about not caring if the Sox win the divison, this year, more than any in recent history, winning the division does matter -- a lot. The road to the WS will be a lot easier if it goes through Chicago and the winner of the LA-TB series than if the Sox have to beat both TB and LA. There is also the home field advantage that comes with wiinning the divsion. Lest anyone forget, TB has a better home record than the Sox. And the Sox have hardly shone playing in TB this year.

Mikey C,

What about Coco's catch 6-7 weeks ago in Anaheim that saved a HR? Easily the best catch made by any MLB player this season. That catch is in the top 5 I've ever seen.

Theo's balance sheet is strongly on the favorable side. No GM is mistake-proof, and he certainly has an inexplicable blind spot when it comes to signing veteran shortstops. But jeez, the team has won two World Series and been in the playoffs almost every year! And almost all the players were acquired or developed under the current administration, except for Wakefield and Varitek. Theo is clearly --CLEARLY -- one of the best GMs in baseball. If you don't think so, name me five better ones.

Aside from trades and free-agent signings, Theo also has to get a lot of credit for building a farm system that is consistently producing talent that (a) helps the club directly, or (b) provides valuable trade fodder. Papelbon, Lester, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lowrie, Bowden, Masterson -- does Theo not get a little tiny bit of credit for them?

As for the playoffs and the division title... I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to finish first. I'm just saying that it doesn't matter as much as making the playoffs in whatever way you can. The Sox appear to have developed a process where they give all their regulars enough rest that they can be fresh for the postseason. That's the most important thing to the organization. I'll be happy if we beat out the Rays, but not if it means putting the pedal to the metal, overtaxing the pitching staff, and/or rushing injured players back into the lineup.

I am utterly indifferent to the Yankees helping out the Sox...I won't root for them to win, but I am still happy if they lose. A win-win if you ask me.

//Coco Crisp has not mae one play this year//

Just goes to show you.

There are plenty of Red Sox fans out there who are out of their ever-lovin' minds.

And Theo is terrible! Two World Series in four years JUST ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH!!

Nice post #15 by Robert Bell. And a very apt comparison to the 1978 Red Sox who, as you say, had an atrocious bench. If one solid player had been added to that bench it would given that team the edge over the Yankees. But you see, Theo Epstein has studied Red Sox history and learned its lessons.

That 1978 Red Sox bench was comprised mainly of Bailey, Jack Brohamer and...yep, Frank Duffy.

Re: #69: Right on. And depth, or lack thereof, was also a big factor in the Bosox-Yanks (one-sided) rivalry in the late '40s to early '50s. The Red Sox had the killer regulars but little else and the Yankees had a cast of thousands and came at teams in waves. I remember noticing this when I was a kid leafing through the baseball encyclopedia. I'm ecstatic Theo seems to have noticed this key to winning too.

It would be interesting to get an expert opinion like Gammon's on exactly how much credit Theo deserves. Some? Sure. He has made a couple of good signings and trades. But let's remember allot of the pieces were here before him - Papi, Manny, Tek, Wake and others. And lets also remember that when Beckett and Lowell were acquired Theo wasn't working for the Red Sox.
The farm system? Sure, he has hired good people....Craig Shipley and scouts etc. But can you really give the brunt of the credit to Theo for the 2005 draft yeild for example, or was it primarily the work of his underlings.
I guess I will forever remain dubious that FratBoy deserves to be up there with Belichick or Auerbach or even Sinden....or is he just the most fortunate baztard ever being in the right place at the right time.

Lighten up Psycho

What are your standards for "good" gm-ship if 2 championships in 4 years aren't
good enough. Do you long for the days of Dan Duquette or Haywood Sullivan? Who among the present crop of GM's do you wish the Sox had?

For those questioning the Hanley Ramirez trade (the biggest win-win trade in history), do you recall last year's playoffs when we had the best big game pitcher in the majors and the throw-in World Series MVP on our team?

And speaking of nostalgia-lane, who remembers the last out of the ALCS last year? How quickly we forget Coco on a dead run diving to the center field triangle? And the thing was, we knew he was going to make that catch, because he did it game after game.

Yeah, Aaron Harang submarined me ... along with one Josh Beckett. Glad I picked up Pat Burrell off the freakin' waiver wire before the season, though. Salvaged my annual sixth-place finish.

>>I do wonder if Lynn, Miller, and Beniquez (as pointed out earlier, each at one point won a gold glove as a centerfielder) ever started a game together.

I had to look it up – and the answer is yes, three times in 1975, with Lynn in CF, Beniquez in LF, and Miller in RF. June 22 (5-1 win over Orioles); June 23 (11-3 loss vs. Indians); Aug. 15 (3-2 win over White Sox). I couildn’t help but notice in the June 23 game, the hitting star for the Indians was none other than Mr. Frank Duffy (4 for 5 with 5 RBIs). Had to be a career game for him.

What a coincidence. I love this blog.

I will say, too, as an NL fan, it's not until I had Doc Halladay on my team that I truly appreciated how special he is. Put that man on a contender, and he's the Cy favorite every year. But you all knew that already.

Regarding Pedro, I saw him pitch twice in person. The first time was his first home game for the Red Sox, when he shut out the Mariners on two hits. The second was a couple of years later, when he pitched seven shutout innings against Texas. I did not experience seeing an opposing runner on third base in those sixteen innings.

Chad, you were probably still in diapers but Yaz, Lynn & Evans anyday....